Veterans of metal rock, the guys in The Dillinger Escape Plan remain largely under the radar of the mainstream media after 13 years, but continue to get big thumbs-up from fans and critical voices in the punk and metal worlds. All well and good, since overexposure isn't exactly these guys' style.

"There's just so much media, everything is oversaturation, sensory overload," lamented bassist Liam Wilson, revealing a big theme behind their forthcoming album, "Option Paralysis" (due March 23). "The overall concept [of the album] is just a verbal, musical reaction to the fact that everything is transparent: You can see everything and everything can see you. It's the death of secrets."

But as a do-it-yourself band with a large cult fan base, the quintet can't help having some kind of presence on the Internet: on MySpace, blogs, music portals and social networking sites. It's a plus for any band, independent or mainstream, to be accessible at the click of a button. For DEP, more fulfilling than trying to manage the media deluge is to address it in their music.

"You want to connect with your fans through Facebook and Twitter and all that, and you know it's a useful tool to have MySpace, but at the same time, where do you draw the line?" said Wilson, who protects his Twitter page from public view. "The way we sound – that frantic, frustrated, all-over-the-place unpredictability — is kind of our reaction to the way we feel when we're constantly being bombarded with information."

The amorphous reality of the Internet and television is part of the fire within DEP's live shows, which have grown a reputation for being intense, even dangerous (at one time shows boasted pyrotechnics). Wilson and bandmates Greg Puciato, Jeff Tuttle, Billy Rymer and Ben Weinman (founding member and Morris Plains native) spend their performances dodging head stocks, guitars and body parts, at the same time challenging their listeners to participate.

"You can watch us on YouTube any day. But when you're [at a show], I want you to feel like something happened. And not just something you could possibly record," Wilson said. "We don't want you to just stand there."

The Dillinger Escape Plan is hailed by fans as a forerunner of mathcore, a metal subgenre known for complex rhythms and unusual time signatures ("To a lay person, it's kind of punk jazz," Wilson explained). Music reviews almost always mention their speed, technicality and defiance against the very idea of the musical genre.

"[Our music is] clever and crafty, it's snotty, but at the same time it's sophisticated. It's not just noise," said Wilson who, along with the rest of the band, stays in the loop on other influences, whether they be Latin jazz and fusion, African beats, Holst or Vivaldi.

Wilson is now the second-oldest member of the band, after lineup changes threatened to stunt DEP's momentum in its early years, like the paralysis of the original bassist and the departure of original lead singer and Morristown native Dimitri Minakakis. But the guys managed to stick together, as they do now with a whole new challenge – members split across the country in Morris Plains, Long Island, Orange County, Calif., Detroit and Philadelphia.

"Ultimately it boils down to, when all of us were younger we listened to music and felt like there was a gap in our record collection. We grew up, learned instruments and now we have this responsibility to create that sound that we couldn't find," said Wilson. "I think that's what all of us are still doing with every member change."